Railway switch



D. E. LAHEY.

RAILWAY SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED FEB, 18. 1922.

1,421,968; PatentedJulyLlQZZ.

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n. E. LAHEY. RAlLWAY swncu. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1922.

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Patented July 4, 1922.

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UNETEQ STATES DENNIS E. LAHEY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

Application filed February 18, 1922.

T0 all rv/tom it may concern:

Be it known that l, DENNIS E. LAHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, new and useful Improvements in Railway Switches, of which the following is a speci fication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in railway trackage and more particularly to improvements in switches.

The primary object of the invention is to insure the safety of trains passing over the main track or through a switch and to prevent damage of the track at the switch points;

Another object of the invention is to furnish improved means for protecting the switch points so that the switch points in use will be protected from wear and from danger of being split by a sharp flange on the wheel of a passingtrain, and when a switch point is not in use it will be shielded from. loose or broken parts hanging from passing trains.

A still further object of the invention is to furnish means for preventing spreading of the stock rails at the point where the switch is located.

A still further object is to provide improved guard rails and to tie the same to the stock rails in such manner that the guard rails cannot shift away from the stock rails or toward the stock rails. Consequently the throats between the guardrails and the stock rails will remain at substantially constant width and the distance be tween the stock rails will be the same at all times.

Another feature of the invention resides in an improved guard rail constructed from a piece of specially made rail and so shaped as to facilitate the housing of the switch points beneath plates supported by the guard rails.

A further object is to provide means combined with the guard rails for elevating of parts hanging from the train to pass over the guard rails and switch points so that a loose brake beam or chain for instance suspended from the train will not catch in any portion of the track at the point where the switch is located and tear any portion of said track away.

Another object is to provide non-spread- Specification of Letters Patent.

have invented certain Patented July 4;. 1922. Serial No. 537,489. U

ing means for the stock rails having seats to accommodate the stock rails and guard rails, the seats being so arranged that the guard rails will project above the stock rails. With the foregoing objects outlined, and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a railway track at the point where the switch is arranged and showing the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

a Fig. at is a longitudinal sectional view of the ties and tie bars and a side view of one of the improved guardrails.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the guard rails.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the base for the improved guard rails.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 1.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the cover plates which is adapted to be secured to one of the guard rails and to cooperate with said guard rail to house one of the switch points.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a track at the point where the switch is arranged and showing a modification of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 9.

. Fig. 11 is a detail transverse sectional view of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a similar view taken on a line extendingthrough one of the switch points.

In the drawings 1 and 2 designates stock rails and 3 and 4 indicate switch rails or points. The switch points are rigidly connected together by tie rods 5 and 6 and the latter rod is provided with an operating member 7 which may be actuated by any suitable mechanism (not shown).

Arranged between the the stock rails at the place where the points of the rails 3 and 4 cooperate with the stock rails, are a plurality of guard rails 8 and 9, each of which is formed in a particular manner to accomplish' the objects set forth in the foregoingv description.

Referring to Figs; 5 and 6, it will be seen that each guard rail is formed from a piece" of specially designed rail and it includes a base 10, web 11 and head 12. 'The web is cut away as shown at 13 to permit the head to ,be bent downwardly towards the base as shown" at 14: in Figures 4 and 5. At the point 15 an arc-shaped portion is removed from tl'ie web of the rail and-then the base is bent up into this recess as shown at 16in l igure's 4; and 5. The opposite end of the guard rail is cut away as shown at 17 to per- Il'lit the end wardly towards the base as shown at 18 in Figures 4 and 5.

In addition vto being shaped in the manner just set forth, the guard rail is bent into substantially Z-shape as shown at 19 and the end 20 is curved away from the stock r'ailnvith which the guard rail is associated as shown at 21 in Figure 1. f

ends 2601f thesetie' bars are such as the spikes 22 and 'c'hairsor support plates23 arearranged betweenthe guard rails and certain of the ties.- p

The guard platesalso'rjest on tiebars-Qe,

.hest shown in Figs. 2' and 3, and these tie bars aresecured to certain of the ties by suitable fastening means such as 'bolts'or spikes 25. "It willhenot'ed that the extreme bent upwardly in. the .fo'rm of hooks which form recesses into which the outer flanges of the stock rails fit, and these hooks prevent any out wardeor upwarjd'moveinent of the stock-rails so thatspreading of the track is prevented; will be noted that the stock'rails rest on the tie bars 24 and that these bars function as seats or chairs for the stock rails. flhe tie bars also have raised surfaces 2'7 tunetioning as seats for the guard rails. These seats or surfaces 27 are arranged above the surfaces which contact with the bases of V the stock rails, so that the guard rails are positioned above or at a greater height than the stock railsand they thus function to keep the wheel flangesto the track. The tie bars are als gpl'ovided with hooks 28 which engage the flanges oftheguardra ils and prevent sa'id guardrails from moving inwardly or away from the stock rails. By

. this construction it will be understood that the stock rail-s are prevented from spreading and that the guard rails are alwaysheld a fixed distance inwardly away from the ofthe head 12 to be bent downr stock rails, and in order to prevent the guard rails from moving toward the stock rails filler blocks 29 are arranged in the 7 spaces between the stock and guardrails and are secured to the rails by bolts 30.

In addition to the hooks 26 .and 28,the stock rails and guardrails are also tied together by clamps 31, best shown in Fig; 7, having hooked ends 32 which engage the flanges oii-the rails and insure the positioning of the same at a fixed distance apart.

The outer edges 33 oi the cover plates 8a are beveled downwardly and outwardly in order to accommodate flanges of difierent thicknesses and to cooperate with the flanges of modern wheels. This feature is considered important as a straight surface on the outer side of the guard rail will not accoInmodate the flanges of wheels made at the present time.

Each guard rail is provided witha 'cover plate 34 secured to the head of the rail by any suitable means such'as screws 35. From the point where the bend 19 is provided in the guard rail to a point adjacent to the end 18 of the guard rail, the plate'3el forms a shed as shown at 7 permits the points of the rails 3 and '41 to be 36 in Fig. 3' and this shed housed when the same are not cooperating with either one of the stock rails. By this construction the point is protected when the V same is not in'use andthat the head of the same will be prevented from wearing. The plates'34 may be made of either rolled carbon steel or of manganese steel but 1 prefer to employ the latter material inmanufacturing the plates; At th'e' entrance to the SWltEll, ramps or guides 87 are" provided and these ramps, as best shown in Fig. e, haveino'lined upper surfaces 38fwhieh gradually-inclin'e from the end '39 upwardly toward the end 40.. this construction an loose part, such as a chain hanging from" the train, will guided upwardly so that it will pass'throu-gh the throat between the guard railand stock rail without liability of catching on any portion or the track and injuring the same On the web 11 of the guard railan aperture a5 is formed to allow the passage ofthe electrical signal wires which are attached to the switch points 3 and 4:. v e

It will be noted that the upward bend of the base of the guard rail as shown in 16 provides a recess 43 to accommodate passage of't'hel rod6. V 7

From the foregoing description, I believe that the construction and operation of the preferred embodiment of the invention may be readily understood and I will now describe thernodification shown in Figures 9 to 152di-nclusive. "In this construction the guards are preferably formed of channelshapcd castings 50 as best shown in Figure 11 and they are provided on their upper surfaces with wear resisting plates 51. The ends of the guard castings are secured in any desired manner to V-shaped castings 52 having inclined upper surfaces 53, as shown in Figure 10. These inclined upper surfaces function to guide any loose parts suspended from the train, over the point where the switch is located, and cover plates 54 extend between the castings 50 so that the portion of the ties at the points where the switch is arranged is entirely covered. In this construction the switch points are also housed when the same are not in use and to permit this a. space is left between one end of a guard casting 50 and one of the end castings 52, and the points are adapted to move into these spaces as shown at 55 in Fig. 9. By referring to Fig. 12 it will be seen that the switch point 56 may move beneath the wear plate 51 and into the space 5'7 so that the switch point will be housed when not in operation.

The castings 50, plates 51 and end castings 52 are all rigidly connected together so that they in effect form a unit and this unit is connected to the stock rails by means of bolts 58, as shown in Fig. 11, which pass through filler blocks 59 arranged between castings 50 and the stock rails. In this a tie bar 60 eX- tends beneath the track and has hooks 61 at its end for tying the stock rails together and preventing the same from spreading.

In view of the foregoing, I believe that persons skilled in the art will have no difiiculty in understanding the invention or manufacturing the construction disclosed, and I am aware that changes may be made in the details set forth without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

W hat is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arran 'ed between the stock rails, each guard rail being bent intermediate. its ends to provide a recess, and plates carried by the guard rails and arranged over the recesses for housing the switch points.

In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between the stock rails and having the ends of their upper surfaces inclined downwardly, and means carried by said guard rails for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails.

3. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between. the stock rails and carrying means for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails, each of the guard rails being of substantially Z-shape in plan and provided at one end with a curved extension directed away from the stock rail with which the guard rail cooperates.

4:. A combination as claimed in claim 3 in which. the upper surfaces of the ends of said guardrails are inclined downwardly.

5. A combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the means for housing one of the switch points includes a plate supported by the last mentioned guard rail.

6. A guard rail formed of a piece of standard rail having the web cut away at the ends and the head inclined downwardly at the ends toward the base, said rail being provided intermediate its ends with a portion arranged substantially at right angles to the end portions, and one end portion being provided with an extension which is curved.

7. A guard rail as claimed in claim 6 in which one end portion of the rail has its web cut away and the base bent upwardly into the recess formed by said out.

8. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between the stock rails and carrying means for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails, filler blocks arranged between the guard rails to maintain the guard rails at a fixed distance from the stock rails, and tie bars securing the guard rails, filler blocks and stock rails together.

9. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between the stock rails and having the outer surfaces of their heads inclined downwardly and outwardly, and means carried by the guard rails for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails.

10. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between the stock rails and carrying means for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails, and ramps having inclined upper surfaces arranged between the guard rails for guiding any loose parts hanging from the train through the throats arranged between the guard rails and the stock rails.

11. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, of guard rails arranged between the stock rails and carrying means for housing the switch points when the same are not cooperating with the stock rails, and tie bars arranged beneath the stock rails and provided with hook ends engaging the flanges of the stock rails.

12. A combinationas claimed in claim 11 in which the tie bars are provided with raised surfaces which engage the bases. of

' the guard rails for holding the upper surthe same are not cooperating with the stock rails, and tie bars connecting said stock rails and provided with hooks which engage said guard rails for preventing the same from moving toward one another. a

V 14.. In a railway track, the combination with stock rails and movable switch points cooperating therewith, 0t guard rails arranged between the stock ra ls, a tie bar extending-z entirely across the'track and vhaving the stock rails and carrying hooks at its outer ends engaging the outer portlons of the flanges of the stock rails, hooks arranged intermediate the ends of said tie bar and engaging the inner portions of the flangesof the guardrails for preventingsaid guard rails from moving towards one another, 7 the guard rails and stock rails for'inaintaining said guard rails: and stock rails a. fixed distance apart, and other tie bars having hooked ends engaging the flanges of the guard rails and: stock rails for aiding in holding said guard rails to said stock rails.

15. A combination as claimed in claim 14 in which the guard rails carry housings for tie switch points. r

v In testimony whereof I hereunto affixrmy signature in vthe presence of two witnesses. DENNIS E. LAHEY. [n s.] Witnesses; V t

HUGH B. FLE CE,

B. ARMSTRONG.

filler blocks arranged-between 

